How does a composer apply for a position at court? With their own music, of course! When, in 1810, Luigi Cherubini wanted to recommend himself as Joseph Haydn’s successor at the court of the Hungarian Prince Nikolaus II. Esterházy, he composed his Messe solennelle in D minor.

Cherubini chose a very expansive, almost opulent mass that offered him ample opportunity to demonstrate his skills. The work is longer than Beethoven’s Missa solemnis and is certainly among the most extensive settings of...